Colossal Grilled Shrimp with Harissa Marinade

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Get your grills ready for this recipe of very large succulent shrimp that have been marinated in flavorful harissa, then grilled to perfection. They’re super tender and huge on flavor.

The 4th of July is just about here, my friends, and where I’m from, it is HUGELY important. For us in the United States, it is Independence Day, the day we declared ourselves a new nation in 1776. July 4th is celebrated with fireworks, special gatherings and best of all… GRILLING!

I do LOVE grilling! We’re having a small gathering of friends and I want to theme it up a bit with some spangles and stars, so I ran down to my local The Fresh Market and picked up a few items, including these Holy-Cow-Amazing-HUGE Colossal Shrimp.

Look at these babies!

This is a single colossal shrimp and it really lives up to its name. Each colossal shrimp is 3-4 ounces, so you’ll get 4-6 of them per pound.

Here is a shot of them in The Fresh Market seafood counter.

Nice looking seafood display. Right there in the middle. You can see how they compare in size to the other shrimp. Awesome! The Fresh Market TRULY has amazing seafood and they’re always super friendly and helpful there.

The Fresh Market is a specialty grocer and they’re quite well known for having the finest ingredients and curated products of exceptional quality, which is pretty important to me. I love good food!

I’m having 6 people total, so I grabbed 12 colossal shrimp, which weighed in at about 2.5 pounds.

I also picked up a few other items to complete the party, and lucky for me, The Fresh Market is stocked for all of your holiday grilling needs, especially for the 4th of July. They have plenty of ready-made side dishes and fresh fruit to go with your grilled colossal shrimp as well as American flag napkins and decor, red and blue plates, and even some very nice floral displays that I took advantage of.

I took some photos in the store to give you an idea. Here’s a collage.

All in all, along with the colossal shrimp, I grabbed the following to make my party complete – broccoli cranberry slaw, a medley of mixed tropical fruit, some patriotic cake bites for dessert, as well as patriotic napkins, plates and other items for the table.

I even picked up a couple mini red and white roses in flower pots because they looked great! And it’s a party! You’ll see them on my final table shot.

But now! Let’s talk about the STAR of this particular party meal, because I’m getting hungry! We’re talking Colossal Grilled Shrimp, my friends! With a super awesome Harissa Marinade!

Let’s get cooking!

Making Your Grilled Colossal Shrimp with Harissa Marinade

The first thing you need to do is whisk together about a quarter cup of harissa with juice from 1 lemon and a bit of salt and pepper.

I didn’t want to add in too many other seasonings this time around as I’m using this Homemade Harissa Chili Paste Recipe and it is already very highly seasoned to my liking, though you can include a flavorful chili powder or some extra spicy chili flakes if you’d like.

Marinate the shrimp by adding them to a large bowl or a sealable bag and rub the harissa marinade in. Really get it in there. Like so.

No need to peel the colossal shrimp. We’re grilling them in their shells for extra flavor.

I marinated mine for 4 hours, covered in the fridge.

When you’re ready to get grilling, fire up the grill to medium heat and lightly oil the grates. Set the colossal shrimp on and grill them about 4-5 minutes per side, or until they cook through.

The shrimp will be opaque and firm. They’re done when the internal temperature measures 145 degrees F.

Pluck them off the grill and serve them up! They’re SO EASY to make! I love easy meals! Especially when they involve grilled shrimp.

I set them onto a plate and served them alongside everything I grabbed from The Fresh Market. Party time!

Patty’s Perspective

The name for these shrimp is no joke. They are truly Colossal. When we first walked up to them at The Fresh Market, I mistakenly thought they were lobster tails. They really do look like lobster tails because they are so huge. Great for a few foodie friends to enjoy. Grilled shrimp is one of my favorite things in the world, and the harissa marinade really took these to a new level.

If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations.

I shop at The Fresh Market all the time because they have such a great selection of produce, bakery items and meats — now that I know they’ve got Colossal shrimp (holy cow U6????) I’ll be back for some seafood. These harissa shrimp look amazing.

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WELCOME!

Hi, Everyone! I'm Mike, your chilihead friend who LOVES good food. I love it spicy, and hopefully you do, too. Here you'll find hundreds of spicy recipes of all levels, some with a little, some with a LOT, but everything is adjustable to your personal tastes. You'll also learn a lot about chili peppers and seasonings, my very favorite things.